Post episode 84
by TheCurlymop
Summary: Post episode 84: Lizzie misses Darcy and Pemberley. Based in part on the song 'Stormy Weather' and also based on the bit in P&P near the end where they go for a walk...
1. Waiting for the sunshine

It sounded cliché, but there it was, when Darcy had walked out of the room, her life had got darker. On the plane, she found herself remembering the bright sunshine of their day out in San Francisco. It had been so bright, she'd had to borrow Gigi's over the top sunglasses and he had smiled as she pretended to be an old style Hollywood starlet and she had appreciated the chance to see his smile properly in its full blown glory as she watched from behind the darkness of the shades. They had given her quite a few opportunities in fact and she had found herself looking at him far more than was usual. She found she enjoyed observing him when he thought no-one was looking. It was the same when she re-watched the videos he was in, she could see his little reactions to what she was saying, his little twitches that betrayed the urge to smile and his relaxation in the later videos.

She'd found herself re-watching her videos more than she thought was normal since she'd got home. It rained and when it wasn't raining, it was misty and cloudy and just depressing, as if she wasn't depressed enough already. She lounged around in her least attractive clothes, wanting comfort and warmth more than anything. It meant that when she dozed off, as was quite common if she was in her room, she was warm and comfortable and didn't wake up feeling too disgusting. She knew that Jane was worried about her but she couldn't find it in herself to care. When she dreamed, she was restless, seeing him out of the corner of her eye or feeling his gentle touch on her back as he comforted her. She would wake, longing to feel him near her, remembering the emptiness of the bench next to her after he'd left the room.

The emptiness of the other side of her bench mocked her. She tried sitting in the middle to hide the space where he had fitted so perfectly. Jane and Charlotte sat next to her and tried to help with costume theatre but it didn't seem to work, either for Lizzie or the viewers. Darcy had been such a good partner and now she felt spoilt for anyone else. If it hadn't been for Charlotte insisting on regular updates, she felt she could have stopped filming vlogs so easily, yet at some points, they seemed to be the only thing tethering her to the ground. The drama surrounding Lydia, her mother's consequent reaction and her father's non-reaction in the form of retreating so firmly behind his books and newspapers that she felt his face would never see the light of day, had all filled her with a kind of longing for the relative sanity of Pemberley and the Darcys. As soon as she'd arrived home, she'd wanted to go back, retreat to the safety of her new friends and run from the madness of her family. All she wanted was to go back to the sunny day in San Francisco with Gigi and Darcy, when she didn't know anything about Lydia and she was happy.

Sometimes she thought that she wouldn't be able to keep going but there was always something to do, a small incident to document in her videos, a cake to bake, shopping to do, a date to help Jane prepare for. Lydia finally emerged from her room after the website mysteriously disappeared, and now there was one more sister for Jane to feed up with cakes and brownies. Lizzie secretly lamented the absence of snickerdoodles but was secretly relieved that even Jane still seemed to have unhealed wounds. The sisters fell into less prickly banter and she sort of felt like they were proper sisters again, trying to ease each other through their various injuries at the hands of the opposite sex.

One day, she woke with a lighter heart and a less raging mind. Unusually, she had slept for most of the night and Darcy had only invaded her dreams as a comforting presence rather than a disturbing one. For once she bothered to wear jeans rather than her pyjamas and she made herself a real breakfast, feeling unusually hungry. The doorbell rang and, confused, she went to open the door. Next to a smartly dressed Bing, there he was. She noted he looked almost dressed down, minus a tie but with braces and with the sleeves of his blue shirt rolled up. She smiled. The sun shone.


	2. On a walk

Just being near Lizzie is enough to fill his head with a fuzziness that makes him quite unable to be polite to Mrs Bennet even if he wanted. He knows he's behaving even more eccentrically than usual but all that he can pray is that Bing picks up on his current state of mind and does something because there's no way he can communicate that he's been struck dumb with love. He feels ridiculous but that's exactly what has happened, he can't speak because his nerves and excitement at seeing Lizzie again have combined to create a blockage in his throat that severely impedes even answering in the affirmative to Jane's enquiry about tea. He's sat near Lizzie, not by design but by coincidence or, it occurs to him, perhaps Lydia and Jane planned it between them. Bing has happily placed himself as close to Jane as he can and is busy exchanging shy smiles with her. This leaves the tongue tied Darcy to carry a conversation with Lizzie, her alarming sister Lydia and her even more alarming mother. Getting bored perhaps, Lydia wanders of and the mother, seeming to tire of needling at Darcy's wealth and poor manners, follows. Lizzie raises an eyebrow at him and he manages a weak smile. Suddenly standing, she extends a hand and unable to believe his luck, he places his own palm in hers. He tries not to swallow too hard at the feel of her firm grip and follows her lead out of the room, awkwardly catching Jane and Bing smiling as they watch him leave. To his alarm, Lizzie leads him towards the front door and for one awful moment he wonders if he's going to be thrown out but then he notices that Lizzie is grabbing her own jacket as well as his and she's putting on her shoes. Lizzie yells out that they're going on a walk and pulls him out before she gets a response.

They walk off down the road, Lizzie setting a brisk pace which surprises him slightly. For such a small girl, she walks quickly. Once they get a little way away from the house, she stops.

'Right. They can't see us from here.'

He checks over his shoulder to see that they are just out of sight of the front windows of her house.

'I promise that my mother will be craning out of that window for the next half hour, wanting to know what we are doing so I thought I'd make sure she couldn't see us when I ask you this.'

She stopped for a moment as if for him to interject but he was caught between surprise at what she was saying and an interest in her lips which were even more enticing than he remembered.

'I need to know what you guys are doing here.'

Confused by the statement, all he can answer is 'Why?'

For a usually verbose guy, he is feeling alarmingly wordless today.

'I want to know if I need to go back and stop Jane opening the box in her heart where she has put all he feelings for Bing. If she opens it and he isn't interested, I think she'll never recover.'

He recognises her concern for he sister but wishes for once that she could be selfish and ask about him first.

'Bing is here to ask her forgiveness and beg on bended knee that she come to supper this evening. He didn't speak to me for three days when I told him what I'd done and he's still only talking to Caroline if it's really necessary. He still loves her and I assume from what you've said that she still loves her in which case I think that those smiles they were exchanging will be the least sickeningly sweet thing they'll ever do as a couple.'

She bites back a smile as some of the worry leaves her eyes and he feels momentary pride at having created both the smile and the reduction in worry. She begins to walk again, apparently feeling that the important part of their conversation is over while he feels his heart begin to rise in his chest again because he knows quite well that this is not true.

To his surprise, it is she who breaks the silence. 'I have to thank you. What you did for Lydia, for all of us, well… thank you.'

All he can think is that he did it all for her, perhaps a little for Gigi, but really all for her. From the look on her face, he realises that something to that effect is coming out of his mouth and he abruptly stops speaking, only to start again.

'I can't do this Lizzie.'

She turns in surprise. 'Do what?'

'I've got to know if I've got a chance. If you say no, I'll never mention this again but you should know that I'm still in love with you.'

She looked at him in astonishment. She was amazed at what he'd said and she was terrified as what she knew had to come out of her mouth in reply.

He went on, 'just tell me if your feelings are unchanged from last April and if they are, I promise I will refrain from mentioning this again.'

Only Darcy could say 'refrain' and sound normal, even, she pondered, slightly sexy. When had she started to find his tendency to use words which came from previous centuries alluring instead of incredibly annoying?

She realised she had been silent for far too long and that he looked crushed. He turned away from her and she felt sure she could see the hint of tears. Realising that her lack of reaction was the cause of it gave her an unexpected sense of sorrow.

'Will...'

He turned quickly.

'I… I'm not sure what to say. I guess I should start with the fact that if things hadn't got in the way, I would have gone to the theatre with you that night.'

He began to smile.

'And I suppose the only way to describe it is that my feelings… well my feelings are completely the opposite of what they were. It's safe to say your feelings are recipro…'

He reached for her and her words were cut off as he pulled her up towards him, lowering his head to hers for a gentle kiss.

'...cated.' She smiled. 'Your feelings are reciprocated.'

In mutual agreement, they began to walk again, shoulders and hands bumping together gently until she grasped his own large hand in hers and with a shy smile, he folded his fingers around hers.


	3. Jane and Lizzie have a chat

Jane knew something was different when Lizzie walked through the door. She seemed lighter and happier somehow and Jane felt sure it had something to do with Darcy. Jane wasn't exactly standing in the shadows but Lizzie plainly wasn't expecting to see anyone when she twirled with her arms outstretched in the middle of the hallway. Jane wondered if she should quietly leave Lizzie to her happiness when she heard a squawk from Lizzie's direction.

'Jane… umm, what are you doing hiding there?'

'Someone seems happy… do you have something you want to share Lizzie?' Jane smiled. It was nice to see Lizzie smiling again.

'Jane I think you have a pretty good idea of what's just happened. The question is, what about you and Bing?'

'Lizzie, stop deflecting,' Jane allowed herself a smile at the thought of what had gone on between her and Bing, 'I want to know what happened with Darcy. All I know is that you and he disappeared seriously quickly and Mum got annoyed because you were out of range of the binoculars.'

'The binoculars? Really? She's that desperate?'

'I prefer to think of it as 'involved and rooting for you' but you can use your descriptors if you like. Anyway, what happened and more importantly, what took you so long and why do you look as if something attacked your hair?'

Lizzie blushed and Jane knew she'd hit on something. 'Lizzie! What happened to your hair?'

'Well umm, it sort of got attached to Wi—Darcy's coat button and it was quite difficult to untangle.'

Jane hadn't missed the slip on Darcy's name but she tried to hide it, asking innocently, 'So how did your hair get so close to his coat button?'

'Jane,' Lizzie sighed, 'I think it's quite obvious, for the me reason your lipstick is considerably lighter than it was a few hours ago. He kissed me as assume Bing kissed you. It's what happens when you tell someone…' here, Lizzie faltered and a look of horror came over her face, 'well, anyway, he kissed me, or I kissed him, we kissed and my hair got caught and then we went on a long walk, talked a bit and then I came home.'

Jane wondered what Lizzie had told Darcy and wasn't telling her. She wasn't worried, she knew it would come out eventually, all she had to do was wait. In the meantime, she needed to talk to Bing and find out what was happening tonight. She had a feeling that it was going to be the first of many double dates.


	4. A double date of sorts

Will was feeling a little stressed. Bing had only just got out of the shower and Jane was due to arrive in a few minutes. He knew it would take Bing at least twenty minutes to apply his moisturisers and style his hair perfectly and he would probably want Will's opinion on every shirt in his wardrobe as well. Will supposed it was sweet that Bing was trying so hard but at the same time, he wasn't sure if he could cope with having to entertain Jane and finish cooking the meal all while attempting to contain the joy he felt about Lizzie's revelations earlier that day. His brain kept flashing back to the kiss, which although short, had been filled with the sort of electricity he commonly associated with fiddling around with computer cables. The daze these flashbacks created had nearly caused the death of his starter, a lightly grilled fillet of fish with a lemon sauce. He was cooking for Bing's apology supper as a way of making his own apology to both of them but he didn't feel that charred fillets of fish would send the right message.

He placed the plates in the warming oven, called a ten minute warning to Bing and heard the doorbell ring. It figured that Jane Bennet was one of those perfect creatures who always arrived on time. Muttering under his breath about what he needed to do next to garnish the main course, he opened the door and gaped in a most ungentlemanly fashion.

Why was Lizzie with Jane? Lizzie, looking beautiful in an amazing dress which covered her modestly in a way that drew the eye? Lizzie, who he'd been fantasising about kissing again since he'd kissed her for the first time this afternoon.

Jane broke the silence which was threatening to turn terminal. 'Umm, Darcy… Will, Lizzie told me what happened today and I… well, I texted Bing and sort of invited her along as well. We, Bing and I, thought it could be like a double date. Bing said you always cook too much so he was sure it wouldn't be a problem.'

He couldn't help responding to Jane's sweet smile but at the same time he could see that Lizzie was looking acutely uncomfortable and a nagging voice in his head was telling him it was his responsibility to fix that. With a sweeping gesture, he invited them in, letting Jane know that Bing was on his way and helping Lizzie off with her wrap in a way that meant he could touch as much of her bare shoulders as possible.

Jane moved off helpfully, leaving Will and Lizzie standing close together in the hallway. She initiated the kiss this time, resting her hands firmly on his chest and standing on tiptoe, leaving him little choice but to place his hands on her waist to support her as their lips gently touched. He lost himself in the softness and warmth of her mouth, breaking away to inhale the fruity scent of her hair before returning to her mouth, encouraging her to open her lips and deepening the kiss by pulling her further up and relishing in the feel of her body pressed close against his own.

They were interrupted by a gentle murmur of voices in the next room and he lowered her to the ground slowly, unable to let her go without a final press of his lips to hers.

He felt he'd done his job pretty well when he saw a proper smile on her face before she turned to join the others, not letting go of his hand as she walked. He followed her with what he imagined to be a fairly drugged look on his own face. He was still revelling in the previous moment when he had felt her warm body pressed up against his and she had seemed to want to be even closer, sliding her arms around his neck and even, he thought playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

Lizzie seemed unaffected apart from the smile and a slight flush on her cheeks but from the looks Jane and Bing gave them, they knew exactly what had just occurred. He squeezed Lizzie hand and muttered something about checking on the food before letting go and heading to the kitchen. To his surprise, Jane followed him and started to help, tearing up thyme sprigs to garnish the fish.

He knew there had to be an ulterior motive to her unasked-for helpfulness and his suspicions were confirmed as soon as she began to speak.

'Darcy… Will, umm, just let me say this and then there will be no more mention of it.'

Without looking at him, she carried on speaking. 'I am very close to my sister, as I think you know. I have witnessed her with all of her boyfriends,'

He felt a momentary twitch of annoyance at the idea of Lizzie with another man, but continued listening.

'And I have to say that she was so happy when she came home this afternoon. I know when she is happy in a relationship and her smile just now confirmed it for me. Lizzie doesn't give her heart away easily and I want to tell you that if you, as I suspect, are lucky enough to be its holder, if you hurt her in any way, if you make her cry, if you insult her, I will know and I will extract my revenge in horrible and painful ways.'

With a sweet smile which contrasted hauntingly with the vicious words she had just uttered, Jane finished her speech, 'I think you make an adorable couple and you're perfect for each other and if I know Lizzie at all, she's busy subjecting Bing to the same speech so I'd better go and rescue him. I hope supper tastes as good as it smells!'

The last sentence was delivered as she wafted out of the room in a cloud of flowery perfume and a swish of her full skirt. He made a note never to get on Jane's bad side, underneath that soft exterior she was clearly harder than she looked. He felt sympathy for Bing as he guessed Lizzie's version was scarier than what he'd been subjected to.

The timer rang and he glanced over to the table, checking all was perfect before calling the others in to be seated. With a flourish, he served the starter, paying special attention to Lizzie's napkin as he spread it in her lap for her.


	5. Film time

Will eyed his guests with a satisfied feeling. The conversation had flowed and the carefully selected wine had flowed with it. His food had been consumed with great gusto and most importantly, Lizzie had caught his eye or smiled or laughed every time he had spoken and he could feel his heart swelling under this treatment.

The plates were cleared and stacked quickly and the couples moved together towards the sitting room and specifically the opportunity for each couple to take up residence on each large and fluffy sofa. Bing and Jane settled easily enough, with Bing in the corner and Jane next to him, seated close enough to touch but not to appear overly attached. Will and Lizzie were a different matter. While Bing began to debate the kind of film they should watch, with Jane leaning heavily on the side of the few rom coms on the shelf, Will and Lizzie began to play musical chairs. Will was unwilling, through manners but also general awkwardness at the situation, to allow himself to sit before Lizzie did so he was left hovering uncomfortably while she worked out where she wanted to sit. He could see the options flitting through her mind as they did through his. He knew where he wanted her to sit – on his lap – but that would need him to sit before her and that he couldn't allow. She finally sat somewhere near the middle, leaving him to pick an end. The right corner seemed best as it was further away from Jane and Bing's sofa and as he sat, he became aware of the cushions sinking towards him and Lizzie working frantically to remain upright. He bit back a smile and laid out an inviting arm towards her shoulders, hoping she would get the message and curl towards him. Jane and Bing had been purposefully ignoring their machinations and now announced the picked film to be a choice between Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill. He didn't feel qualified to express an opinion and it was left for Lizzie to cast the deciding vote on the side of Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Around the time the first bride was making her way down the aisle, he became aware of Lizzie leaning gently towards him and in the midst of the laughter over the rings, her shoulder somehow collided with his chest. She shot him a look full of laughter which made his breath catch before settling more comfortably against him and all but pulling his arm around her. He loved the feel of her smaller frame in his arms. He loved being able to feel her breathing, the shakes of her shoulders as she laughed and most of all, leaning forwards and burying his face in her soft hair and just inhaling. He'd become familiar with her scent and it was something he associated with the first videos he'd appeared in. When she'd rejected him so brutally, he remembered a waft of warm fruity scent washing over him and it had gentled to harshness of her rejection. Later, she had brushed against him, touching his shoulder and although the simple touch of her cool hand had sent his hormones raging, it had been her scent washing over him that had made him so determined that someday this girl had to be his to hold. And now, if he was reading the situation correctly, which he sincerely hoped he was, he could hold her and inhale her scent as much as he wanted.

Lizzie was enjoying the experience just as much as Will was. Curled up into his side in a way she hadn't been sure he would be comfortable with, her head was cushioned on his surprisingly firm chest. His arm around her was warm and secure and every so often he would brush his hand up and down her arm as if checking that she was still there. His shirt smelt starchy and felt crisp under her cheek and every time he shifted, she got a waft of his slightly spicy aftershave, a smell she had occasionally caught and surreptitiously inhaled as he walked past her. Her memory of the day she had found out about Lydia and Wickham was infused with his scent, a comforting presence, mixed with the warmth of his arm rubbing lightly on her back, much as it was on her arm now. Biting back a smile, she looked up at him, only to be met with his face much closer to hers than she had thought it would be. With a slightly devilish smile, he dropped a light kiss on her lips before curling his arm around her more securely and settling further into the pillows. She glanced across at Bing and Jane to check they were occupied before bracing herself to be brave.

Will tensed as he felt a small warm hand land on his knee. It sat there innocently enough but he could feel the heat from it radiating through his knee and up his leg to centre in his chest, almost like indigestion or heartburn. Lizzie seemed to have got distracted by the film though and her hand remained there, taunting him and removing all ability to focus from him. All he could think of was that hand in his hair when they had kissed, that hand in his when they had walked, and now, that hand on his knee. Overwhelmed by sensation he tipped his head back and closed his eyes.


	6. Sleeping and waking next to you

He woke, cursing the uncomfortable position he'd slept in before recognising and relishing the warm solid weight of Lizzie, still curled up but more on top of him than he thought she'd been before. He shifted slightly, registering the bright sunlight just poking through the windows and onto the place his head had rested – it had woken him from a rather nice dream but, he pondered, reality seemed pretty good too. He wondered what to do next. It appeared that it was early in the morning and Bing and Jane had moved some time before he'd woken. He needed to take action soon or Lizzie would be woken in the same manner as he had been and although he sort of wanted her to wake, he suspected that she was a little low on sleep and she was very peacefully resting on him at the moment. Experimentally, he slid an arm under her curled up legs, hoping he could lift her without disturbing her too much, and to his delight she curled into him more, making his job relatively easy. He thanked his habit of leaving doors open as he entered his room and placed Lizzie gently on the bed. It was either there or on one of the unmade guest beds in the guest wing and judging from the way she had been clinging to him, he didn't think she would mind waking next to him as opposed to on the other side of the house on a bare mattress. He slid her shoes off and placed them next to his, thinking absently that he liked the way they looked together before joining her on the bed and smiling as she rolled reflexively towards him and her arm landed across his chest. He pulled the blanket over them and drifted into sleep again, his last thought that he liked going to sleep next to her.

Lizzie woke up feeling warm. Scratch that, too hot, and scrutinising her surroundings it was easy to see why. She was enveloped in what was almost certainly a cashmere blanket and several limbs belonging to CEO William Darcy, who apparently radiated heat like some celestial being. The comparison was particularly apt because he slept like one too. She caught her breath at the classical handsomeness lying next to her, his even features relaxed in sleep, his hair ruffled just the way she liked it and his mouth lying in a half smile which suggested he was dreaming happily. She wriggled enough to remove her left leg from under his right and discovered a pressing problem, she needed to pee. Unfortunately, wriggling was no longer an option as Will, feeling her move had decided in his sleep induced wisdom that she was going nowhere and had latched onto her with great force around her waist, uncomfortably putting pressure on the very area she wished to relieve. The problem was, Will had both his arms firmly around her and even as she managed to shift the top one, the lower one curled even tighter in a way that at once imprisoned her and made her feel incredibly safe. Regardless of how his sleepy possessiveness made her feel, she needed to get up before her problems became even more urgent. Quashing an urge to giggle as an image of herself as the tramp from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, forever getting free and then becoming entrapped again, she seized the opportunity of Will's arm going limp for a second to shift it and move. Fast. Will let out a mumble of protest as his warm teddy bear was replaced unceremoniously by her pillow but he settled down and she breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't know where she was in the mansion but there had to be a bathroom somewhere close by.

Will woke a few seconds after Lizzie had flitted out of his room, wondering why Lizzie's soft curves had turned into a pillow. Sniffing the pillow he came to the conclusion that he hadn't been dreaming, the pillow smelt of her and, now he examined it a little closer, there was a red hair waving gracefully across the surface. She had definitely been there and now she wasn't. As he sat up, he noticed her shoes and his next to each other and smiled. He had a vague recollection of thinking that looked right last night and now the realisation hit him somewhere in the solar plexus. He liked this girl, loved her even, and he wanted this to be the norm. Ok, they hadn't exactly woken next to each other but he wanted that to be a possibility and normality too. He heard footsteps and began preparing himself for what he wanted to say to her. He hoped she wouldn't take much convincing.


End file.
